In what seems like some kind of small miracle, the commissioner of the police of Durham, Ron Hogg has stated that his force will not pursue people growing small amounts of cannabis at home. He has also suggested police wont be going after users smoking on the street!

“It’s about keeping people out of the criminal justice system and reducing costs, it’s about being more productive with the way we approach things.

It’s also about seeking to prevent future use by keeping people out of prison.

My position is clear – I support decriminalisation of users and support debate around the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

What we’re trying to do now is push forward for national debate on drugs policy – it’s quite clear that what has been done for 40 years is not working and we need a different approach.”

Many across the Internet have been quick to criticise this move – why I don’t know. It could be the beginning of change in the UK and yes it is coming from the police but why not?

Do you seriously think a politician is going to push this through? They have proved to be inept and corrupt to the bone too many times. They aren’t going to give us this in a hurry why not let the police show some leadership for once? They are afterall the ones given the idiotic task of chasing down an ever increasing amount of plants.

Change can come from the strangest places.

Durham is not going to become the Colorado of the UK overnight, however, this is clear.

Yes, there is mention of some ‘program’ if you are arrested – but they are not going to arrest small scale growers – they say. If that is indeed the case there will not be any need for this so called ‘rehabilitation’ crap which would be more fitting for people addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. Science proves beyond any doubt they are doing themselves (and others) a lot more harm.

This man has balls. Unlike all politicians. And there’s only so much he can do. He should be applauded for his actions, a clear step forward for Durham.

Lets hope other police leaders notice this and follow suit. It would be a good start.

In a nutshell I’m planning to cycle around the world, getting stoned with people wherever I go. The blog (www.healthy-stoner.com) started out as a response to the classic image of someone who happens to enjoy weed as an unmotivated, unhealthy and sedentary being. As someone who enjoys nothing more than ripping a vaporiser and doing intense physical exercise I couldn’t see much out there for people like me so I decided to start videoing mine and my friends’ stoned adventures and putting them on the internet. The first post on the blog is literally the first video I ever made so I’m very much learning on the job and I was given the name Roger Boyd in this Details magazine article so I decided it’d be rude not to go with it.

A few years ago I cycled from Land’s End to John O’ Groats with a good friend of mine. After two weeks of riding, covering just over 1000 miles I felt like the hardest bit was done and I could have gone on forever and from then on I’ve always wanted to cycle internationally. I’m self funding this and it’s been 18 months of hard saving but I’m now getting close to setting a departure date. I can’t say more than that currently but watch this space!

What I can say is that it is close enough to start appealing to anyone who’d like to meet up, get high and chat about the weed situation where they live. If people are happy to let me pitch my tent in their garden for a night and maybe take a shower then that’d be really excellent, and the ultimate dream would be to have people come and join me for a leg of the journey. What I’d love to do is to be able to plot a route around the world and stick pins in a map in each place I’ve got fellow weed enthusiasts to get high and chat shit with. Doing that in a different place every night is my ultimate dream!

As it is I’ve made plans to meet up with people in Serbia, Slovakia, France, and of course Spain. I’m working towards my life becoming a non-canine, THC infused version of the Littlest Hobo. I just googled the Littlest Hobo and discovered S1 E1 is called ‘Smoke’. Every stop I make, I make a new friend, can’t stay for long just turn around and I’m gone again…

The self-cultivation of cannabis has been decriminalized
By Enrique Fornés.

I’ll tell you how the public security law that takes affect July 1 has been left.

The minimum fine has been left at 600 euros, not the 1000 euros that had been planned.

It is still an administrative penalty to hold the minimum amount of drugs in public places, routes, establishments and transport (art.36.16).

The wonderful news is that added to art. 36 for the first time a paragraph, number 18, relating to cannabis growing, that says that it is only punishable “in places visible to the public”. (art. 36.18).

To be precise for the first time in democratic history the acts of plantation and illicit cultivation, It is determined expressly and clearly what is prohibited and on the contrary what is permitted.

The previous Franco law that prohibited the cultivation of cannabis from the 8th April 1967, was a law that “prohibited” but didn’t punish the offenders. From there they said that it was prohibited to germinate seeds.

The Spanish government has decided all of a sudden, on the new public security law, to decriminalize the self-cultivation of cannabis. Why have they done so? I don’t know, because in the 2013 draft it wasn’t intended.

Text of article 36: “serious infringements” Number 18. “The execution of illicit acts of plantation and cultivation of toxic drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances in places visible to the public, when they don’t constitute a criminal offense”

The grow shops and horticulturists can sell seedlings provided they don’t expose them to the public . Clients should be informed that the sale of seedlings is legal, as well the cultivation of cannabis, provided that it the cultivation isn’t visible to the public and they should also be informed that the trafficing of drugs is illegal.

Article 36 is “non-organic” (fourth final provision), so the “merit” of the discriminalization with the new wording of the law in principle must be attributed to the government and its parliamentary majority.

So this way self-cultivation hasn’t been legalized but decriminalized, which is the best anti prohibition news. The best thing that could be done. Self-cultivation is only punishable if visible to the public. Indoor growing isn’t punishable, neither is cultivation in a barn, greenhouse, the back garden of a villa, etc. They can’t fine you or arrest you.

The bad news is that the law raises the fine to 601 euros (double) for minimum possession (art. 36.16), and they have brought out an article on frisking, which they call “external body inspections” (art.20). They can frisk you just by suspecting that you are committing the severe administrative penalty of possession of drugs. We’ll see what the judges have to say.

At the end of the day it’s good news. At last you can cultivate marijuana if it is not visible to the public without the fear of being denounced. At last you can show your grow to friends or visitors, take photos, and sell seedlings. Now they should eliminate prison charges and fines for commerce or possession.
Regards,
E.

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Here’s some pics of Sweets Seeds Bloody Skunk. I have been growing these out on the terrace here in southern Spain, one is still growing now, no problem with temps as low as 5/6 celsius at night. Yield was not huge, looks like it will be an interesting smoke when the cure is over though. […]